Mar 25 2020 — Neil Moss — Hill Times — As the White House seeks to have the new North American trade deal in force by the beginning of June, a member of the government’s NAFTA advisory group says that timeline is unlikely to be met. Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff told The Hill Times that the group held a call earlier this month […]
Feb 28 2020 — NY Times — When the European Parliament bade farewell to Britain last month, its members broke out into a wistful chorus of “Auld Lang Syne.” But when British negotiators travel to Brussels on Monday to kick off the next phase of Brexit, these old acquaintances are likely to give them the cold shoulder.
Feb 25 2020 — Dan Darling — National Newswatch — It’s time to restore predictability to trade in North America. The best way to do that is to pass legislation to implement the Canada United-States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) without delay. After three years of negotiating and waiting, Canadian farmers, agri-food exporters need certainty and stability. That’s why it is encouraging to see the House Trade […]
Feb 25 2020 — NY Times — President Trump said Tuesday that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India had made progress toward what he hopes will be a landmark trade agreement between the two economic giants. But there was no breakthrough to announce after formal talks on the second and final day of the president’s visit.
Feb 24 2020 — Neil Moss — Hill Times — The power of American lawmakers to modify trade agreements has inspired their Canadian counterparts to look for more of their own influence over the trade negotiation process, say some parliamentarians. CSG Senator Percy Downe (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) says the work of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to alter the new NAFTA has set a […]
Feb 19 2020 — Jennifer Mitchell — National Newswatch — Parliament is back this week and there are a lot of important issues on MPs’ and Senators’ agendas — from infrastructure disruptions to medical assistance in dying and the new NAFTA. Indeed, the House of Commons Trade Committee — and now possibly others — is studying the implementation bill for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA) […]
Feb 18 2020 — The Canadian Press — Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has offered effusive thanks to New Democrats and stinging criticism of the Conservatives after the NDP supported the minority Liberal government’s efforts to more speedily ratify the new North American trade agreement. Freeland said the government wanted to end study by a House of Commons committee of the new deal, […]
Feb 18 2020 — Janyce McGregor — CBC — A contentious motion Justin Trudeau characterized as a “near miss” will come to a vote at the Commons trade committee Tuesday, immediately after Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland makes her case for swift passage of the implementation bill for the revised North American trade agreement. When the committee last met on Feb. 5, Conservative MP […]
Jan 16 2020 — The Canadian Press — Senators on Capitol Hill have finally approved the latest version of North America’s free trade pact. The implementation bill for the long-awaited U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement passed on a vote of 89-10. That means it now needs only the signature of President Donald Trump to be fully approved in the United States. Canada itself has yet to […]
Jan 15 2020 — On 11 December 2019, the term of two of the remaining three members of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body (AB), Mr. Ujal Singh Bhatia (India) and Mr. Thomas R. Graham (US) came to an end. With only one member left, the AB can no longer meet the 3-member quorum required to review appeals. […]
Jan 15 2020 — The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the rules-based trading system face an existential threat from the Donald J. Trump administration’s blockade on appointments to the WTO’s top court—the Appellate Body. As of December 2019, the Appellate Body had too few members to decide cases, leaving pending appeals in limbo and threatening to turn every future […]
Jan 14 2020 — The Canadian Press — Canada’s hard-won continental trade deal with the United States and Mexico could be up for a vote in the U.S. Senate before the end of the week, thanks to the emerging timelines for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Republicans controlling the Senate say they expect the implementation bill for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to […]
Dec 16 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Efforts to reform the WTO will continue. Ottawa-The World Trade Organization has suffered a grievous blow but it’s a long way from being dead and efforts to reform it may yet bear fruit, says Valerie Hughes, a former WTO and senior Canadian government official. The United States has effectively shut down the WTO’s Appellate […]
Dec 5 2019 — CTV News — Following a frosty couple days, U.S. President Donald Trump has once again hinted at a possible trade spat with Canada and other NATO countries that he believes aren’t “putting up their money” on defence spending. Trump spoke in Washington, D.C. on Thursday in front of representatives ofthe United Nations Security Council and said he had […]
Apr 29 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Chamber offers several suggestions for overcoming European protectionism. Ottawa—The federal government has to make better use of dispute mechanisms in the free trade deal with the European Union to tackle protectionist measures that are hindering agrifood exports to Europe, says the Canadian Chamber of Commerce The 18-month-old trade deal removed most tariffs but that […]